Bristol Motor Speedway
https://www.bristolmotorspeedway.com/

A short drive from our host hotel.






Bristol Caverns
Explore Bristol Caverns!

Far below the earth's surface, in the timeless beauty of Bristol Caverns, a strange and exciting experience awaits you.

Paved, well lighted walkways wind through the vaulted chambers and along the banks of the ancient Underground River that carved these remarkable caverns from the hard core of the earth 200 to 400 million years ago. In the frontier days, Indians used the Underground River as an attack and escape route in their raids on settlers. Stealing into the area by way of the Underground River and the caverns, they swooped down on unsuspecting families, then disappeared as if swallowed up by the earth.

You will be retracing the same warrior paths while exploring the vast rooms and arches, columns, and natural stone formations of varying size and kinds. These formations, millions of years old, display rich veins of minerals which give the formations beautiful colors of red, blue, gray, brown and sparkling white.

Stalactites and stalagmites, some larger than tree trunks and others smaller than straws, fascinate and give play to the imagination. Where some of these formation have grown together, massive columns have been formed reaching from the floor to the ceiling of the lofty rooms. With every view, nature's artistry is at its best and can be seen in the remarkable tumbling cascades and billowing draperies - all of solid stone.






The Builtmore
https://www.biltmore.com/
https://smokymountains.com/asheville...ltmore-estate/

This is an hour drive from our host hotel (half the miles and time from Fontana lodge, perhaps more of us can go see it).

Built between 1889 and 1895, the Biltmore Estate is the largest privately owned estate in the country. Owned by the Vanderbilt family, it’s one of the longest-lasting and most prominent examples of properties from the Gilded Age. The best part is that you can tour the most exciting parts, transporting you into the home of one of America’s wealthiest families.

The Biltmore Mansion is the crown jewel of the Biltmore Estate, covering a whopping 178,000 square feet. To put this into perspective, the home contains over 250 rooms including 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, three kitchens, and 65 fireplaces. It’s also filled with luxuries that seemed too modern for its construction date, boasting electric elevators, an in-ground pool in the basement, a bowling alley, forced air heating, and a two-story library containing over 10,000 volumes of literature. And that’s just the beginning.